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Friday, August 14, 2015

Learning to Brake

Toyota Hybrids have 2 braking systems, both controlled by the brake pedal.

The first is the friction braking system, as in classic cars, which slows down the car by pushing the brake pads onto the brake disks of the wheels.

The second is the regenerative braking system, which uses the electric motor to slow down the car while charging the battery with the kinetic energy recovered.

The second one is the one you should use as much as possible to optimize your fuel consumption.
Given that both systems are controlled by the same pedal, it’s important to understand how to use it correctly.
As a general rule, slower, gentle pressing of the brake pedal will trigger regenerative braking, while sudden and stronger pressing will force the friction system to kick in.

Being primarly a foot sensitivity issue, some kind of feedback will help you to better judge your braking performance: this can be accomplished by using Torque on your phone.